Back Stories: Kapanen "the Lesser"

"You have received a trading card autographed by Kasperi Kapanen in the presence of a representative of The Upper Deck Company or provided, and certified as to it's authenticity, by Kasperi Kapanen. Enjoy your autograph card!" Signed -- The Richard P. McWilliam Family

Ok, so I know that's not really a story on the back of this card but since this is a mailday post, I gotta work with what I have, right? 

Kapanen was always an enigma for the Penguins if you ask me. Each time he was with the organization, he was expendable. They spent a 1st round pick on him in 2014 just to trade him to the Maple Leafs the following summer. Just as he was looking to have solid 20-30 point regular potential, the Pens picked him back up. After a decent, but shortened, season, he followed that up with nothing but disappointment. Failure on his part, management's part, coaches' part, probably all three for sure, but he just wasn't used the way he needed to be. He was claimed off waivers by the Blues back in February of 2023 looking to bolster some scoring capability. He finished that season with 14 points in his last 23 games so it wasn't completely horrible. However, he finished the 2023/24 season with six goals and 22 points. I won't even bring up his off-ice issues he's struggled with either.  

But somehow, someway, I've always had a soft spot for Mr. Kapanen. Maybe it's that I feel he still has untapped potential. Maybe it's that I always want my teams #1 pick to be a success. Maybe it's because I used to watch his dad play in the NHL and have always had the expectation of that same level of staying power, completeness, toughness, and professionalism.

 

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My Million Dollar Gretzky...NOT!

In honor of the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie Card (you know the one that NHL.com identified as a 1978-79 collectible because of the photo origination date and stats on the back? Who am I to argue semantics, right?) that was graded a PSA 10 and recently sold at Heritage Auctions for $1.29 Million, I thought I would share my "million dollar" Gretzky card.  Is it worth a million dollars?  Absolutely not. But it's by far the best Gretzky card I own and is far and away the best Gretzky card I have ever pulled from a pack. 

Well, let me clarify a second. I didn't pull it out of the pack. It is true that it was pack pulled, but it was my wife that freed this card from its wrapper tomb. We had found a couple boxes of 2014-15 Upper Deck Masterpieces back a few years ago at one of the Chicago Sports Spectacular shows, most likely the fall show that year since our MO seems to be bust boxes in the fall and chase singles in the spring.  Once we got it home, we went about our normal process of trading back and forth with opening packs. Not necessarily Pack Wars style but sharing (because sharing is caring). 

It was probably the fourth or fifth pack in the box and once I saw it my jaw hit the floor. I've pulled autographs before, many in fact. But other than the Mario Lemieux that I pulled from a pack/box of 2010-11 In The Game Enshrined years ago, we had never hit a card like this. Some of you may have seen this before but without further adieu, here it is in all it's glory.

It's not the rarest in the set. It's not even serial numbered. The Black Framed and the Red Framed versions showing him in Rangers and Blues uniforms might be more desirable. I think the ones signed with a red pen might even sell for more. But, it's an autograph I've always wanted and it's one we pulled ourselves.  

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An Epic Card Has Arrived.

I have noticed lately that both Upper Deck and Panini have been sending redemption cards of "higher" value with signature verifications.  I have no problem with that other than the fact that no one is ever home at my house to sign for them.  Regardless, the Post Office gladly holds my little yellow envelopes for me until I can get my happy butt over there to pick them up.

Well an epic card awaited me yesterday.  I bought a box of Panini Classics Signatures back in March at the Chicago Sun-Times Sports Show in Rosemont, IL.  In it was a redemption for a triple auto.  Honestly, I never expected to receive this card and assumed it would be one that would need replaced.  Then the email came last week.  My card had shipped.

And here it is in all it's glory...

One Card!!  

Three HOFers!!!  

Three Autographs!!!  

19 Total Stanley Cup Championships!!!  

EPIC!!!

Sometimes I Like My Collection

Huge Bill Guerin For The PC

Huge I tells ya!!  HUGE!!

Well if you are thinking I pulled some sick, monster, mojo hit then you would be wrong.  If you were thinking I scored some super-rare, rookie, auto, patch, DNA sample card you would also be wrong.

What I did get was in fact huge though.  As in size.

The auction that I bid on said that this was a 2006-07 Upper Deck BAP Dual Signatures of Bill Guerin and Doug Weight.  Here was the auction picture of the card.  Other than the full bleed to the edge on all sides, I didn't really notice anything different about this one. 

Then a 9x12 padded mailer showed up at my door.  I wondered what it could have been since I hadn't ordered anything that large or bought any lots that may have to be packaged that way.  Once I opened it, I realized that this was no ordinary card.  It is an 8x10 sized card, almost like a photo. 

Here it is against my computer monitor to give you an idea of the size (although you can still see Wayne's giant forehead behind them).

The "card", if you can call it that, is pure awesomeness.  For one, it is a dual auto of two great role players.  Second, it shows Billy G in a St. Louis uniform.  His stint with the Blues was short lived and there are not a lot of cards out there with him wearing Blues digs.  And finally, its another card I don't have in my Billy G. collection.

Again With The Classics

Since I opened that awesome box of Panini Classics Signatures at the last show I went to, I've been drooling over the autograph checklist.  I can't say that I'm going to chase the entire thing but I am not ruling that out.  I may want to eventually put it all together or at least attempt it.

That's why I've been watching them on auction to see what is out there and how much it will cost me in the end.  Some "lesser" stars are going for a few bucks.  The "big" name guys are into double digits, some reaching into the $40-50 range.  The "huge" guys are pushing the hundred dollar mark.

With my new budget..."lesser" stars it is.

Here are a few new ones...

Long time Penguin GM, mastermind behind two Stanley Cups and former Golden Seal Craig Patrick as well as Dennis Hextall.  Hextall was also a former Golden Seal as well as a host of other teams.  He spent larger amounts of time as a North Star and Red Wing.  Ex-Flyer great Ron Hextall calls him Uncle Dennis (I don't know if he really calls him that).

Here we have two guys that accompany their signatures with jersey numbers, in case you can't read their writing.  Dave Babych was drafted in 1980, a draft class with the likes of Larry Murphy, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, and Denis Savard (the Pens took Mike Bullard).  He was one of the most consistently solid D-men ever but will most likely never go into the Hall like those other guys because, well, he never won a Cup and never could match the offensive prowess of his junior career.

Our other auto is of Guy Carbonneau who, unlike his partner there, won three Cups and another three Selke trophies.  Carbonneau isn't in the Hall either because "shut-down" guys don't get any respect and Guy was one of the best ever.  No one in the HOF voting community cares about the guys that stop the opposing scorers, block shots, kill penalties, and make the locker room a better place.  

Finally, we have Marty McSorley.  Ahhh, the love/hate relationship much of the NHL players and fans share for Mr. McSorley.  I guess Marty's popularity depends a lot on whether you are also a Gretzky fan.  After Semenko was done in Edmonton, McSorley became Wayne's bodyguard, following him to LA as well.  The guy has his name on two Cups, almost had a third, but is more known as #4 all-time on the NHL's PIM list.  It's that reputation that follows any conversation about McSorley.  That, and the fact he tried to decapitate Donald Brashear (don't worry, DB doesn't remember).  If Dino Ciccarelli can be convicted of assaulting a player on the ice and still make it into the HOF, why can't Marty?

Box Break - - 2011-12 Panini Rookie Anthology

Back in June 2012, Panini released an end of the year product called Rookie Anthology.  Reviews were mixed for this in the beginning as the price point (over $100) was a little steep considering this is a mish-mash or all the previously released sets.  What does that mean, you ask?  Think of Upper Deck's old Rookie Update sets from the early-mid 2000s and you would be pretty close to a match.

(Contrary to popular belief, I am over the age of 9, therefore I was able to purchase and open this product without legal ramifications for both the seller and my parental guardian.)

Rookie Anthology packs "updated" rookie cards of late entry rookies and players that got to see action further in the season from their card releases earlier in the year.  This is a great improvement over jamming early releases full of redemption cards.  Crown Royale, Pinnacle, Luxury Suite and Limited are all featured with additions to the Ice Breakers checklist, the Rookie Royalty and Silhouettes checklists, and the Limited Phenoms checklist.  In addition, Panini added their own base cards as well as Rookie Treasures which feature a dual sweater or patch plus an autograph of any of the plethora of rookies.

Each box contains 10 packs with 5 cards per pack.  Guaranteed in each box are 1 Rookie Treasures card, 1 additional autograph card, and 2 memorabilia cards.  

Let's take a look at what we pulled.

First, the BASE CARDS:

When I first saw these out there, I didn't think they were anything new or fresh.  Just basically your run of the mill Panini set.  The more I saw them, though, they kind of have a way of growing on you.  

The base set cards feature a zoomed in shot of the player, fully colorized to stand out from the background.  The color coding matches the team colors on the boarders and design.  There is a, believe it or not, fairly unobtrusive product logo in the top left corner, and a gold foil stamped team logo on the right.  The players name, number, and position are arced across the bottom in a ribbon/banner type design.  They are clean, bright, and look very nice side by side in binder pages (its only a 100 card base set).  

ROOKIE INSERTS:

The interesting thing as I already mentioned, with Rookie Anthology is that it is much like the old Rookie Update sets from Upper Deck back in the day.  Panini created new updated rookie cards with high numbers for the various sets produced that season and inserted them into this product.  Here's what we pulled...

From 2011-12 Crown Royale.  This is a Rookie Royalty card of Warren Peters.  Warren is in the Penguins system now after signing with the team as a free agent in July 2012.

 

Here are the Ice Breakers from the Pinnacle "Update" set that I pulled.  With the Nufex technology in full effect, it's hard to see what is going on with these scans (especially since my scanner now wants to put stripes on everything).  And on top of that, I forgot to flip them before I uploaded them.  Clockwise, I pulled Cody Eakin from the Capitals, Calvin De Haan from the Islanders, Peter Holland from the Ducks, and Anders Nilsson from the Islanders.

GAME USED/AUTOGRAPHS:

I pulled one Rookie Rivalry card.  Here it is and features Toronto's Matt Frattin and David Rundblad from the Coyotes.  For some reason, I pulled Rundblad in a few products as a hit.  Too bad I don't collect Portland Pirates cards, or Coyotes, or Rundblad.

Here was my Rookie Treasures card which features Tomas Kubalik dual memorabilia and autograph numbered out of 499.  These RT cards are numbered either /99, /199, or /499 with an additional run of /15 inserted as case hits.  Kubalik has played 12 games for Columbus but has not had a call up this season.  He has split time in the AHL between the Springfield Falcons and the St. John's Ice Caps.

But the next card made the whole box (and then some).  If you follow my Twitter, you probably already know what is coming.

Sorry for the crooked scan.  The picture I posted on Twitter was much nicer I think.  I even got a retweet by Panini because it's such a crazy card.  This is the big one of the checklist.  The RNH  #/99 auto/dual multi-color swatch card has been moving on the secondary market, albeit at a much slower pace now that we have some time between release and now.  It's kind of funny to see the differences in final sale prices between the plain swatch ones and the multi-color ones too.  But still, I had a heck of time even pulling basic RNH cards out of products last season.  Now this???!!!  I was pretty happy as I haven't had much luck on rookie autos as of late.  Very nice card, indeed.

BONUS PACK CARD:

In every box of Rookie Anthology, there is a bonus pack that contains an additional card.  This card can be anything.  More times than not, it will contain one of the hits of the box or an extra hit.  On occasion, I have seen some of these with only base update rookies.  Mine....??

We had another pretty awesome autograph...

This is a 2011-12 Panini Limited Stanley Cup Winners Auto of Brad Marchand.  The card is some type of hybrid acetate/thick glossy/plastic-like material.  So much so, that Brad (and all the others) had to sign with a silver sharpie marker.  Brad's signature leaves something to the imagination but there is no question that it is his.  He even put his number on there.  Very nice looking card.

Overall, this is a nice Panini product.  The base cards are nice and at 100 cards for a set, it isn't too difficult to track down the ones you may need to fill a checklist.  The hits are plentiful and the opportunity to expand the base checklists of the earlier releases makes the set building chase even more challenging.

I would definitely recommend anyone to pick this up, especially at the current price point under $60.  Check around and you will find some great deals on this one.  You will probably get plenty of bang for your buck.  I know I did.

Box Break - - 2008-09 Be A Player Blaster

You know when you are in your local {enter retailer name here} and you happen to walk by the "card aisle", or "wall", or "4' Gondola" and you get the feeling of adrenaline rushing through your veins?  I haven't had the feeling in quite a while because I have made it a point to not go over to those areas.  They have been a bane to my collecting existence for a long time and caused much heartache (walletache).

Well the other day, I happened to find myself face to face with the trading card aisle and really had no idea how I got there.  But when in Rome, right?  I proceeded to look over the wares, to which I found very little that peaked much interest.  That was until I found the shelf-o-blasters that lurked at the end of the aisle.  These were no ordinary blasters with the traditional $19.99 price tag.  No these were the "discounted" ones with the $5.99-$11.99 tags...my personal favorite.

Strangely enough (that was sarcasm), there wasn't much by way of hockey.  A couple of last years Score, a box of 2009-10 Upper Deck Series I, and a 2007-08 OPC box that looked as if it had been returned by a Pit Bull.  But on the bottom shelf, behind some weird Pete Rose cards, there was this...

 

It's not often that you find BAP cards in a retail store so for $10 I figured why not.  You can see there are 2 packs, 5 cards per pack with 1 guaranteed autograph (that comes out to $1 per card for the math challenged).  Since there are only 10 cards here.  I figured I'd show them all since I'm sure there are many of you out there that have never seen this set before.

Here is the pack...looks just like the box except it is commanding me to "Grab Autograph Cards!"  Ok, I will.

Here are the base cards that were pulled.  I figured I would scan all of them since there really aren't that many.  Nothing really fancy here in the design other than the team color coordinated, rasterized photo of the player in the background and the matching name stripe down the side.  Simple and clean.

Drum roll please......ddddddddddddddddddd...My "guaranteed" autograph card...

 

Which is technically two autographs, I guess.  We have Matthew Lombardi and Dustin Boyd, both from the Calgary Flames at the time.  Lombardi is now in his second stint with the Coyotes and Boyd has since played for the Predators, Canadiens, and now is in the KHL (last I looked).  I'm not sure I understand how you get either of these two's names out of that chicken scratch mess but I suppose there are much worse examples out there.  

Worth $10?  Probably not, but getting an auto in a blaster is always fun and dual auto cards are even better.  There are also triple autos available out there too if anyone was interested.  The best deal on these is if you can get to a show where some dealers usually have these available for about $7-$8. 

Some new PC love

I posted about my EPIC Pirate card the other day that I just added to my PC.  But that isn't the only thing I have been adding.  I have increased all four of my player PCs and Team PCs by about 100 cards (total not each) or so over the last few weeks.  Here are just a few to show some PC love...

The new CORNERSTONE of my Bill Guerin collection is this Be A Player Autograph of Bill Guerin.  As you can all see, Billy G is sporting his holiday best in his NHLPA Bauer sweater and matching Santa hat.  While not the most scare of his autos and certianly not the most valuable, I have wanted this card since I started collecting Guerin.  Why?  Just look at it.  It's freakin' cool!  Billy G is still young (I think this was still with the Devils), he looks goofy (possibly drunk), and he's wearing a Santa hat.  Did I mention he is wearing a Santa hat?

I have been sort of "hawking" many of the young stars in the Penguins system as of late.  I am not sure why since I started my Eric Tangradi collection about a year ago and he has still to crack the lineup on a permanent basis.  Brian Strait here as well as Joe Vitale saw a lot of ice time last season, especially Vitale.  These guys are pieces to the puzzle for the future development of the team.  We will see how well they fare this season (IF THERE IS A SEASON!! DAMNIT!!). 

I also found this nifty dual auto Simon Despres and Joe Vitale Titanium card you see here below.  These are numbered out of 50 and are sticker autos.  Unfortunately for me, the Despres was signed off the sticker so his signature is kind of cut up.

I picked up another Billy G auto as well.  This is another Be A Player auto from the Millenium Signature Series.  This is a Gold Parallel version of the auto, or at least I thought it was until I realized that all the autos in this set are gold.  Boy did I feel stupid.  Either way though, it is a nice card with a nice graph.

Here are a couple of James Neal cards.  I haven't officially made him a part of my PC yet but I have been considering it.  What irks me is that ever since they did the James Neal NHL:36 special, the fact that he has exploded production-wise on the line with Malkin and Kunitz, and the fact he is in a bunch of product from 2008 on up, his cards are selling way higher than they should.  Lot's of bandwagonners out there I guess. 

The one on the right is from the 08-09 Ovation set.  It looks kind of like Artifacts too which is strange.  I don't recall if I had any of these but looking back, it's probably because they were issued 50 cards per tin and sold in retail stores.  The one of the left is another Yellow Parallel from 2009-10 Champs.  Only, look close above the crossed sticks.  See those?  Those are Kudo Antelopes.  They look like deer with curly horns.  This is the Yellow Animal Parallel version and was seeded about 1:80 packs, a hard pull indeed. 

This came out of a pack, which came out of a hobby box of 2012-13 Score that I picked up from some dealer online who I can't even remember anymore.  It was either D&A Cardworld or that fairly new site WizWorldDeals.  Either way, I bought three boxes of these, thinking I would make a considerable dent in finishing a base set with rookies.  Oh, how wrong I was.  Out of three hobby boxes (which logically thinking would have came from the same case) I am still over 200 cards short.  Pathetic if you ask me.  But now I have lots of doubles, including this guy right here.  This card sort of reminds me of the old Dream Team cards from Score...or even the Bo Jackson from 1990.

What PC post would be complete without mention of a couple Mario Lemieux cards.  Both of these came from hobby boxes of the newly minted 2012-13 O-Pee-Chee.  The best set is back once again to torture me and take up valuable space on my Set Needs page.  Here we have the Mario Pop-Ups card which seem to fall one per box but I have seen some, including one of my own, result in two or three.  The other card is the Marquee Rookie Legend SP Silver Shiny Foilmajig.  It isn't black so there is no serial number but definitely a much harder pull than the other basic foil parallels.  Love those retro yellow sweaters with matching helmets.  They have to bring those back.

And last but not least is this Donrus...er...Panini Elite Series Gold Foil Sidney Crosby.  So many scratches and dust particles show up in this scan that it really looks ugly here.  In reality, this card is pretty sweet.  It's also nice to see a recent card of Sid where the picture chosen isn't one of him sporting his splotchy playoff beard growth. 

Box Break - - 2007-08 Upper Deck Be A Player Hobby

The Be A Player name has been bounced around the card collecting world for years in various forms.  Having done stints with In The Game, Pinnacle, and now Upper Deck, the BAP name in and of itself for most collectors conjures up images of one thing...autographs!

BAP has been pretty synonymous with autographs since it's inception in the late 1990s.  That same tradition has continued throughout the years since.  I found a deal on a box of 2007-08 Be A Player Hobby and couldn't resist the temptation. 

Essentially what you get here is 1 Autograph in each pack.  Yes, that literally means in each pack.  And this isn't one of those 2 or 3 pack boxes either.  There are 8 packs per box with 5 cards in each pack (40 cards for the mathematically challenged).  Also, one of the autographs will be at least a BAP Duals Autograph, with the possibility of a BAP Trio thrown in for good measure.  All the rookies cards and extended rookie cards are numbered out of /99.  This 2007-08 incarnation of BAP also contains Players Club cards that are essentially the same as the regular release but serial numbered at different tiers; gold base /99, gold rookies /10, platinum base /25, and platinum rookies /1.

Would this box yield another Stamkos rookie (as I am now 3/3 on pulling Steven in 2007 hobby boxes)?  Let's find out.

To reiterate, there are 8 packs with 5 cards per pack.  As you can see on the package, it says "Find 1 Autograph Card in Every Pack!" on average


First the base cards in case anyone has never seen what these look like.

As you can see, there isn't anything too spectacular going on here.  These look like a combination of Artifacts and MVP rolled into one.  The front features a player in some action pose along with some airbrushing in the team colors, a small team colored stripe in the top left corner with a super imposed jersey number, and the name, team and position on the bottom.  Strangely in this batch, I scanned all red based uniforms.

And here are a few more just for posterity.  In this batch, I chose all the blue/white uniforms.  That was completely unintentional.  Also, I don't recall ever seeing Mark Recchi in a Thrashers uniform.  He just looks weird. 

I pulled on Players Club Gold card of Jerome Iginla numbered to /99.  I have to say I like the gold parallels better than the regular base.  They just look nicer.

I also pulled one rookie card, that of James Sheppard.  This too is numbered /99.  The rookie are a much harder pull in this product as they don't even fall at one per box.  I do like the rookie design here though.  There is no mistaken that it is a ROOKIE card.

And now the moment you have all been waiting for....the EIGHT AUTOS...

 First up was Jordan Staal.  SWEET!!  A Penguin and an autograph at that.  Very nice card for my PC.  Staal's signature could use a little work though.  If I was to guess, I wouldn't have ever know that to be a Staal auto.  More like....?  I don't even know.

 Next up was Zach Parise.  Parise has a much nicer auto.  You can actually tell it is his.  But unfortunately, we have the sticker auto syndrome going on here.  That's where the player signs a sheet of auto labels and his or her signature runs over the edge.  It ends up cutting of some of the autograph.

Then came Lee Stempniak.  Lee has had three other teams since playing for the Blues back in 2007.  He had a stay on Toronto, Phoenix, and then Calgary.

The next pack awarded me with another illegible auto...that of Mr. Mike Komisarek.  At least you can still read his jersey number.  Here he still played for the Montreal Canadiens, the team that drafted him.  In 2009 he was sent to Toronto where he remains...at least for now. 

 Oh look.  Another former Hab.  This time in the form of Kyle Chipchura.  Kyle has spent the majority of his time as a career minor leaguer.  Only until the last few years has he actually gotten a good deal of playing time for an NHL squad.  He is currently on the Phoenix Coyotes roster.

Pack number six yielded another Penguin.  This time former winger Petr Sykora.  I have another Sykora auto somewhere in the collection but this one is much nicer looking.  That fish hook looking think on the right is actually a 17 in case you were wondering.  Petr played 2007-08 and 2008-09 for the Penguins before spending a few moments in the Wild organization.  He then went back to Europe to play in the KHL for a season.  He spent all of this season with New Jersey, chipping in 44 points in 82 games.  I am just happy to add another autograph to my team PC.

Pack number 7 was a bit of a disappointment.  I puled an Adrian Aucoin auto when he still played on the Flames.  Aucoin has been in the league quite a while now.  His first game was in 1994 for the Canucks.  He later played for the Lightning, Islanders, Blackhawks, Flames, and now sits on the Coyotes.  I'm not a big Aucoin fan.  I am neither a fan of his autograph. 

And the final pack...

What are the odds of pulling three cards for my PC with autos?  No really.  What are the odds?  I was trying to figure it out but couldn't.  Regardless, he we have an awesome Double Signature card of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, both former Pens.  Whitney got traded before the Cup win mid-season in 2009 to Anaheim for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi.  He is now on the Oilers.  But Gonchar was a very stable part of the defense for the Pens from 2005-06 until the end of 2009.  He was a big reason why the defense flourished during the back to back Cup runs.  It eventually just came down to one of those things where the guy just wanted too much money to stay so off he went to Ottawa where they have been getting less than their money's worth for sure.

Over all, this is a great box if you are looking for autos for a decent price.  Plus it is fun opening packs knowing you are going to get a hit each time.  My opinion is probably slanted though since I got three cards for my PC.